It’s the home stretch for the Montreal Canadiens, with nine games between them and what is arguably their most important off-season in recent memory. Standing in their way are the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins. These two teams clashed just a week ago, in the middle of Antti Niemi’s revenge tour against his former clubs. Despite the Finnish netminder’s best effort, a late Patric Hornqvist goal secured a hard fought win for the Penguins, and was the best effort put forth by the Habs in recent games.
For Montreal, these games are simply about taking stock of what’s available, and seeing how different pieces play in the lineup.